Bottle-closure.



No.889,636. I PATENTED JUNE 2, .1908.

I H. P. ROBERTS.

BOTTLE CLOSURE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT;6.1907.

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U ITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

HENRY P. ROBERTS, OF BOSTON, MASSAOHUSETTSASSIGNOR TO CHARLES H.GODDARD, OF

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOTTLE-CLOSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY P. RoBER'rs, a citizen of the United States,residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Closures, ofwhich the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification.

My invention relates to bottle closing devices that will operateautomatically to close the mouth of the bottle when placed upright, andopen it when turned sidewise, or inverted.

Many articles of food, beverages, or the ingredients for making thesame, are used as required from a bottle or other like receptacle, whichcannot conveniently be closed by a tightly fitting stopper. Hence, itoften happens that no closure is applied to the mouth of the bottle,and, as a consequence, foreign matter,- dirt, or insects may obtainentrance to the bottle, resulting in objectionable conditions that mayeven be unsanitary.

It is the object of this invention to provide devices that may bereadily applied to bottles, after removing the cork, which willact'automatically to open or close-the mouth of the bottle, according asthe bottle may or may not be in position for pouring out its contents.With this end in view, I have devised a construction that is convenientin use, efiectual, cheaply made, and applicable to any ordinary bottle.

The invention consists in a stopper having devices to retain it at themouth of a bottle, means to permit limited motion of thestopper'sufficient to open or close the mouth of the bottle, and in sucharrangements and combinations of parts as may be more particularlypointed out.

The drawings show in: Figure 1, a section of a bottle neck with mydevices illustrated in elevation therein. Fig; 2, a vertical section ofmy bottle closure. Fig. 3, an inverted plan of my device. 'Figs. 4 and5, a vertical section and an inverted plan of a modification of theinvention.

In my preferred embodiment of the invention, I mold a stopper 0 ofglass, having attached thereto the elongated neck I), and at theextremity of the neck and shoulder, or rim, 0 is bulged outward from theneck. The spider d is made from spring metal, and it is found that brasswell coated with nickel is well adapted'to this device. The long legs 60f the spider are bent toward the axis of the spider, and act tofrictionally retain the spider in the neck of the bottle. A central holef is broached in the spider, sufiicient to admit the shoulder c of thestopper, and tongues as g project toward the center of the spider tonearly touch the surface of the neck I) of the stopper. My closure isassembled by forcibly pressing the shoulder c of the stopper against thetongues g, which, yielding, ermit the shoulder c to pass through thefiole f, and thereafter the tongues 9 will prevent separation of thestopper and spider, as the weight of the stopper is not sufficient tospring the tongues g. The closure is inserted in the bottle bycompressing the legs e of the spider toward its axis, then the closureis pushed into position in the bottle neck as illustrated in Fig. 1.While the bottle is in positions near the vertical, the weight of thestopper will keep the mouth of the bottle closed, but, if the bottle isconsiderably inclined, the weight of the stopper will cause it to fallaway from its seat h at the bottle mouth, opening a clear assage fromthe bottle. Attention is calle to the position of the stopper a outsideof the bottle, as the bulging sides i of the stopper overlap upon the toof the bottle mouth and act to revent lo gment of foreign matter about te seat .h at the bottle mouth.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the hole f in the spider fitsthe neck I) of the stopper, and after the neck of the stopper is passedthrough the hole in the spider, it is warmed in a flame until thesoftened glass can be molded over to form the shoulder c.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States:

1. In a bottle closure, a stopper having a neck and shoulder, combinedwith a spider having resilient legs, and tongues on the spiderpreventing passage of the shoulder of the stopper beyond the spider,substantially as described.

2. The combination with a bottle having a seat, of a stopper resting onthe seat, a spider frictionally retained in the bottle neck havingtongues embracing the stopper, said stopper having a shoulder touchingthe tongues to limit motion of the stopper from itsseat, substantiallyas described.

3. In a bottle closure, a stopper having a neck and a shoulder at theextremity of the name to this specification in the presence of neck,combined with a spider arranged about two subscribing witnesses.

the neck of the stopper said spider havin T 7 devices to frictionallylodate it in a bottle and HEB R1 ROBERTS 5 means on the spider limitingmotion of the Witnesses:

stopper, substantially as described. GEORGE W. JACKSON,

In testimony whereof I have signed my CHAS. F. HOWE.

